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"Womyn" is one of several alternative spellings of the English word "women" used by some feminists.[1] There are many alternative spellings, including "womban" and "womon" (singular), and "wimmin" (plural). Some writers who use alternative spellings may see them as an expression of female independence and a repudiation of traditions that define females by reference to a male norm.[2]

WomanIn Old English sources, the word "man" was gender-neutral, with a meaning similar to the modern English usage of "one" as an indefinite pronoun. The words wer and wyfwere used to specify a man or woman where necessary, respectively. Combining them into wer-man or wyf-man expressed the concept of "any man" or "any woman".[3][4]Feminist writers have suggested that the less prejudicial usage of the Old English sources reflects more egalitarian notions of gender at the time. [2]Reasoning[edit]Some feminists object to the fact that "woman" and "women" are "man" and "men" with a "wo-" prepended.“By taking the "men" and "man" out of the words "woman" and "women" we are symbolically saying that we do not need men to be "complete". We, as womyn, are not a sub-category of men. We are not included in many of the history books, studies and statistics that are done in male dominated societies, thus they do not apply to us, for in these items we do not exist. In these societies men are the "norm" and women the "particular," a mere sub-category of the "norm," of men. The re-spelling of the word "woman" is a statement that we refused to be defined by men. We are womyn and only we have the right to define our relationships with ourselves, society, with other womyn and men. These re-spellings work as a symbolic act of looking at and defining ourselves as we really are, not how men and society view us, but through our own female views of ourselves, as self-defined womyn.[5]”Variants[edit]Womon/womyn[edit]"Womyn" appeared as an Older Scots spelling of "woman"[6] in the Scots poetry of James Hogg. Its usage as a feminist spelling of "women" (with "womon" as the singular form) first appeared in print in the 1970's.Womon/wimmin[edit]"Wimmin" appeared in 19th century renderings of Black American English, without any feminist significance. Z. Budapest promoted the use of "wimmin" (singular "womon") in the 1970s as part of her Dianic Wicca movement, which claims that present-day patriarchy represents a fall from a matriarchal golden age.[7]